Here's To Us
by Zi-Dawg
Summary: "From tomorrow on, there's no looking back, and no caring about the rest of the world. Just you and I against the world and whatever gets in our way.You up to that, Maka?"


**Here's To Us**

I own neither **Soul Eater** nor do I own **Halestorm**.

* * *

Heavy lime lids flashed open and closed as the fatigued meister lazily walked around the table. This game had probably been going on for at least half an hour, but who was counting? She was finding more than just the time of day hard to keep track of lately though. It seemed as if the Death Gods looking over her just weren't smiling down the past couple of days.

He nudged at her shoulder and gestured her to the table. It was her shot. And apparently it was his as well. She watched as sipped through a shot of the bar's cheapest tequila. It probably didn't taste too well going by the way his face cringed as the cool liquid slithered down his throat. Normally she would be pounding his head in, but they were in the same boat, so she let it slide this once.

"Your...egh...your shot" he mumbled through a surprise belch. Four shots of that low end crap on top of 3 tall glasses of tap weren't exactly ingredients to a five star meal.

She pushed her bandages further up on her forehead, walked over to the cue and bent her knees as much as her bruised knees would allow. _Agh. _Her face contorted as she did so. And with an eye already blocked off for protection she simply needed to aim her stick and thrust forward.

He just stood there and watched as she basically forced more pain on her frail figure. It pained him more than she could begin to fathom that she felt the need to carry all the burden. They were a team, he felt it too! Why couldn't she figure that out already?

A quick look up and down her body was all he needed to be able to tell. The sudden shrugs, the small whimpers of pain. Like the faithful watchdog he was, Soul dropped his pool cue and shuffled up behind her. As she brought her arm back he wrapped his digits around her pool cue with one hand and used his other to reach around her waist.

"Hey, you win. 'Cmon." He walked them back to their seats at the booth. They sat across each other so she had something soft to lay her legs on. Apparently being the weapon meant being more than just a tool that brought destruction down upon evil souls.

A drowsy silence passed between the partners before a waiter approached their table to see if they were ordering anything more. Soul nodded his head for the both of em and took a sip of whatever water he had left in his previous glass.

"Ey, uh, just refill this if you can." At least he could say he was trying to sober up. Someone had to get them home whenever that time came. Death knew that she was in no condition to walk by herself, let alone help him get by.

He ruffled through his hair and yawned as he slid his palm down his face. It may have technically been the next day according to the clock on the wall, but that didn't mean yesterday was going to be easily forgotten. A couple of cracked ribs and the loss of a couple pints of blood would be a good enough reminder for him.

For her a concussion, a dislocated left arm, and a sprained right ankle were going to be nice reminders of just how badly their latest mission went. Maka buried half her face in her good arm over their table and sighed.

_What the hell's wrong with me? _She sunk even lower if that was possible, trying anything she could to burn the images from her mind. But this cruel world that she lived in wasn't pulling any punches these days. The simple thought of calling it quits was popping up in the back of her mind way too often lately. Their last few missions, successful as they were, didn't go as smoothly as she would have liked.

Sure they completed each mission to the letter, but at what cost? The lives of maybe three or four citizens wasn't anything to get depressed about, and it never usually bothered her too much. But...

_'MOMMY! MOMMY HELP ME!'_

She quickly lifted her head and grabbed his glass with a straw and took a sip of whatever it may be. _Ech. Wine? What the hell Soul?_

They glared daggers at one another, waiting for the other to break, but both knew they were playing an unwinnable game. He took back his glass and took a sip of the bitter tasting beverage.

"Thought you didn't like alcohol."  
"Mmm...don't."  
"Psh. Idiot."

Soul leaned back against the cushions behind him and laid his legs next to Maka. He stared at her while she stared at his empty glass.

"More." She mumbled.

"Come again?" He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes just to make sure he was hearing things clearly.

"Pour me a glass." She spat out. Maybe she was just that light a drinker and couldn't control herself once she got the taste of the devil's liquid in her, but he wasn't going to question her judgment at 1 am, not when his own was probably out the window after consuming more than the legal amount. Maybe this was just her way to get past these sort of things.

So he complied and filled his glass to the brim and slid it to her side of the table. Soul watched as she lightly gripped the neck of the cup between her fingers and swished the cheap stuff around without spilling any. Another small sip left the meister with a rotten taste in her mouth. But she manned up and took a big gulp, consuming half the glass in one go.

"Woa there Maka! Slow down alright?" She didn't much like the tone he was taking with her. Who did he think he was, her Papa? HA! Her Papa couldn't tell her what to do, what made him think he could?

"Shaddup. 'Nt tell me whattado. Shtupid Shoul." He ignored the slurring of her words behind the order and just shook his head.

"Whatever." He looked around the bar for a waiter or just about anyone that could take the bottle away but the floor was empty, they were the last customers left and besides the barkeep, the last people in the restaurant left.

A short silence passed while she twirled her fingers between the bandages over her eye, just trying to pass time while they waited. She eventually started picking at it and tried to rip it off before he stopped her in the middle. Why was she was trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong at the moment?

"We were supposed to be the best Shibusen had to offer. Heh. Can't even save one damn girl." Maka let her head fall back down to the table. "Dammit."

Soul didn't know where this was coming from all of the sudden, but he wasn't looking forward to whatever was coming out of Ms. Lightweight across the table.

"Three Star Meister? Death Scythe? Ring any bells dumb ass?" He waited for her to bark back but only silence followed by that little ringing sound that happens when you twirl your finger around the wet rim of a glass. She wasn't even listening was she?

"Oi! You hear me in there? Maka?" Not a chance. She was off in a place all her own, and if he wanted to help her get through this he'd have to resort to pulling out the big guns.

Pushing himself off his seat he stumbled across to the other side of the table and attempted to sit himself next to her, but ended bumping into her instead. _Shit. Keep it cool Soul. Pull yourself together and sober the fuck up already._

She didn't even bother acknowledging his existence anymore from the looks of things, which made what he was going to do next easier than he thought.

He placed a hand at the nape of her neck and mimicked the likely painful way she laid her head against the table. It took little effort when she was like this, open and vulnerable. It wasn't often, but things like this were happening more often then not and her soul was taking in all the pain on it's own. She needed some medicine and only he could give it to her.

**_~!~_**

Maka didn't know how she got there, or how the elegant two piece found it's way over her slim figure, but she wasn't going to complain. She sat at the edge of the bench and lifted the fall board to reveal the cleanly kept keys that played the tune to her Soul.

She turned her head for a second to see if anyone was there. Nope, all clear. Feeling reckless, she lifted her arm above the notes, ready to to release her anger on the poor piano.

Maka could have sworn she heard the echoes of the low pitched key she aimed for resonating through her head, but it was just the casual skipping of the jazz record playing behind her.

That meant _he _was here too. Well, it only made sense. This was his mind and all. Then where the hell was he!

"Yo. Lookin' for me?" Like a dog on call just waiting for the command, he was there sitting as close to her as he could be without being on top of her.

"Ch. As if. Anyway, why'd you even bring me here? I was doing just fine on my own."

"Eh? Since when is sleeping at a table in a bar considered fine? You're in pain and you're not letting me help. Hell, you won't even acknowledge you're hurt. Too damn proud of yourself."

"Says you Mr. I'm-too-cool-for-a-band-aid-so-I'll-settle-for-an-infection!" She stood up and hovered over his white mop on top. She was the boss here and he was the employee. He needed to learn his place already! It's been eleven fucking years already! When was he going to learn the differences between Meister and Weapon?

"Scraping my knee ain't anything to be worried about!"

"What about your cracked ribs huh! Is that nothing to worry about either! You should be in a hospital bed lying down gettin better you idiot!"

"Says the moron with a sprained ankle and a dislocated shoulder. Oh and let's just forget almost losing your eye. Dumbass."

"Oh shut up Soul! That wasn't my fault. It was Black-"

"Stars... yeah yeah I know. We went over this a million times. He's already gotten an ear full because of it. No need to stress the point anymore." This discussion was going in the complete opposite direction he intended it to go. He needed to regain control over the situation and lighten the mood.

Soul stood up from the bench and stretched his legs and back out before laying his hand in front of her face.

"What?"

"Just take it." She spat a few curses beneath her breath before taking his hand. He pulled hard and she practically jumped out of her seat and banged her head into his chest. Soul clutched his digits around hers tightly, now that he had her he wasn't going to let go. They needed to settle this shit now before it started to ruin their chemistry.

He led while she followed his feet with her eyes. She really had to learn this routine already, this was just ridiculous. She couldn't even look him in the face when they were talking.

Stiff movements along with a tight grip around his torso was a bad recipe for resonance.

"Just feel it Maka. Stop thinking and just do. That's your problem lately. You're over thinking and over analyzing everything. What happened to the Maka that went straight into a fight with her fists, not a plan?"

"She almost died."

"Never stopped you b'fore."

"Never mmfed somemmf before." Just because they were resonating and he could read her thoughts didn't mean she could purposely fuck with his head like this. He didn't want to have to read her mind to get the answers he sought. They were partners for fucks sake! When did they start keeping secrets from each other and why wasn't he informed!

His velvety crimson orbs turned to slits. Soul stopped moving his feet and gripped his on her shoulders as he waited for her to return his stare with one of her own.

But Maka looked away. She didn't want to have this talk right now. She wasn't ready, she was worried. She buried her face in his cleanly striped shirt and muffled more of her frustrations into him.

They stood there in silence, undisturbed by the outside world or even the tiny red demon for that matter, this kind of privacy was to be cherished! But instead they were fighting amongst each other like they were hiding in clear daylight from their friends and everyone that cared about them.

Another skip, another silence broken. The awkwardness growing between the resonating duo was only growing and still nothing was resolved.

"Look. Maka I, umm..." Words just weren't coming to him like they were before. Maybe it was the fact that he had the only person he cared about held snug between his arms. Or maybe it was because he knew she would never be this close to anyone else in her life. Now Soul was never a guy who flaunted his achievements, but this ranked pretty high among his long list of accomplishments.

Being a child prodigy in the musical world was pretty good. Having the blood of a demon weapon was cool too. But becoming a Death Scythe and helping his meister make her dream come true was the greatest thing he's ever done in his life. He truly cherished every moment spent with this girl.

Soul's hold on her loosened up when he laid his head over hers. Maybe an answer to her problems wasn't what he was really looking for. He just wanted her to understand that he'll always be there for her.

For now, the warm sensation of being in his arms was all she needed. It was enough to wash away the past couple of days' worries. All those innocent souls lost, the doubts that often plagued her, all gone. This place was nice, this place was comfortable. It always has been, she'd just been too occupied to notice earlier.

"You'll leave me one day too won't you, Soul?" Said host grunted not knowing how to react to something way out from left field.

"You know Black*Star and Tsubaki are moving soon. It's probably not too obvious yet but any Meister with perception can tell she's pregnant. Can you believe it? They're going to start a family and move to the other side of the world." Her voice was more informative than anything, Maka always kept up a nice facade. But she couldn't hide the fact that she was both jealous and sad, not when she in his head.

"Ox and Harvar are already gone. Killik left with them, and we hardly ever see Kim or Jackie anymore. Everyone's moving on Soul." She gripped her fingers around the fabric of his striped jacket.

Soul could see it coming miles away, but this is what he was for. He lead Maka away from the middle of the floor and towards a table similar to a high-top for two at the bar they were 'sleeping' in out in the real world.

They took their seats across from each other while Soul imagined a bottle of Merlot popping up. Oh right, and two glasses to pour it in. He shook his head wondering how he forgot about that. Maka was a woman, she wasn't going to drink straight out of the bottle.

His eyes never left her as he poured the first glass, again though, she wasn't willing to meet his gaze. This was becoming a really big pain in the ass. What the point of all of this if she was just going to keep ignoring him.

"Maka." He called to her. Still, she kept her chin firmly planted on the upside of her palm.

"Maka!" He shouted this time with a pound of his fist. The table shook and the glass tipped over spilling all over her shoes.

"Hey what's your problem! You're making a mess Soul!"

"What!? You're ignoring everything, yet you can complain about your shoes while you're in my head? Maka, what the hell are we doing right now?"

"I don't know. You're the one who brought us here. I was perfectly fine where I was before." Her brows poised in anger while she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Psh. Yeah right. At the moment you're in a drunken sleep in the booth of a shitty sports bar. You are not perfectly fine and you refuse to tell me what's wrong, Maka!" She pouted and turned her head, as expected.

"And you keep on doing that! Every time I try to get you to talk about it you just ignore me. You did it earlier when you decided to drink your problems away. You're hurt Maka, more than you wanna admit. And you're not letting me help, why?"

"Be...'cause!"  
"Because why?"  
"Because I said so! Get off of my back Soul! Besides, why would I answer your questions when you haven't even answered mine, Soul? Idiot."

He fixed his gaze on her stupid facial expression, but still couldn't believe she was being so childish.

"So you want me answer your question? And then you'll answer mine right?"  
"Yes."  
"Fine. What was it again?"  
"I was asking you when you're going to leave? Everyone else already has or has plans to."

Soul shook his head and shared a laugh with himself. She couldn't be this dull, could she?

"Leave? Leave to where? Where would I go and why?"

"Just somewhere, anywhere!"

"Well I ain't goin' anywhere. Why should I have to?"

"Cause that's what people do! They move on! They get tired and wanna do different things. It's called being human, Soul!" She may have been yelling with all her might at him, but it wasn't the cool thing to do to yell back. So he kept his calm demeanor hoping she would follow.

"Yeah, what if I don't like change?" Still calm as a spring breeze, Soul kept that same apathetic expression that always got on her nerves.

"It doesn't matter! You're going to! Everyone does!"

"Well I'm not everyone Maka."

"Yes you are! You'll leave me too! Everyone does! Mama! Papa! Hell, even Blair moved out last year! Everyone leaves Soul!"

And just like that it was all out in the open. Now the problem which he once thought was just because of a bad day was something even deeper. This problem stems back from the days of her parent's divorce. It didn't help that she hadn't seen her mom since.

"Maka." He whispered.

"What! Finally ready to admit it? You would leave me too wouldn't you? Wouldn't you!" And suddenly the small gap between meister and weapon was gone. The table was on the floor, broken in pieces. But he kept the bottle of Wine, it would have been a waste of good alcohol.

"Look, Maka. I don't know what's making you think like this lately, but it's dumb. You're being dumb. Why would I ever even think about leaving you? You're my meister. You made me into the Death Scythe I am today. We're partners Maka."

"You...you're...just shut up Soul. What about me? What if I wanted to leave? What would happen then, huh?" She heaved her arms over her chest to emphasize her point.

"I guess, I would just have to follow you now, wouldn't I?"

"And why is that?"

"Stop being stupid Maka. I'm your weapon and your my meister. I'll follow you anywhere. That's all there is to it." So he says.

"That's all there is to it? That's it? That's the only reason you're still with me, why you stay with me? Because I'm your Meister, huh?"

"What? No! That's not the only reason why, and you know it."

"Oh right, it's because you're my Eternal Watchdog, right? Because without you, I can't do a damn thing."

Soul sighed and reached an arm around his idiot meister while bringing his foot around hers. His next move made sure that her eyes were all on him. Now he had a bottle in one hand, and his very slender meister in the other.

"You may be the smartest student at Shibusen, but jeez Maka, you'll always be my Super Stupid Meister won't you? I ain't like your dead beat dad and I'm definitely not like your mom. Blair finally moved out because she knew what was best for us. Spartoi hasn't really been Spartoi for a while now either. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still here Maka. I don't care how many times you say it Maka, I'll never leave your side."

It looked to Soul like all the blood in her body rushed to her cheeks from how red she turned. She squirmed within his grasp, failing to get loose with only one foot on the ground.

"I...I don't like liars, Soul."

"Don't worry Maka, lying ain't cool." With that Soul took the bottle of wine and brought it up to his dry lips. When finished, Soul offered the opened bottle to Maka. She took the it in her gloved hands very hesitantly and questioned whether or not she should do this again. Drinking wasn't exactly what she would call fun. Then again, she's been doing a lot of things she wouldn't consider to be fun lately.

"I'll always be wherever 'here' is, Maka."

"Mm. Promise?" She mumbled while swishing the liquid around, allowing it to breath.

"Ch...Yes. I promise Maka. Now would ya drink the damn thing already, you're making this look even cheesier than it should have.

"So if I decide to leave the DWMA tomorrow and just travel around, not once thinking about hunting down pre kishin souls, you'll still follow me?" She questioned with a hint of hope.

"For your sake Maka, fuck Shibusen. I love the guy like a brother, but Kidd can handle things on his own. He doesn't need Tsubaki and he definitely doesn't need a problematic guy like me as a weapon. So if you don't wanna do this anymore then fuck it."

"What'll we do for money, huh? How will we survive without Shibusen?"

"We'll figure it out, always do."

"You say that now, but yo-"

"These fingers are good for something Maka. So stop worrying." Soul pushed Maka back onto her own two feet and let her stand on her own, which she found to be a problem for a short moment after having been on one foot for a little bit. She shook the daze off and let her eyes wander around to the ghoulish candles that provided illumination for Soul's mind.

Living by the Rules and Regulations set by the Shinigami were how Maka made her living. But after doing the same thing day in and day out and not really getting anywhere she started to second guess. That second guessing is why she was where was at the moment. Stuck in between the love for job and the ambition of doing something for herself, like having a family.

Soul said he would never leave her, and he's proven it on many occasions. He could have left whenever he wanted to, but he kept up with her constant nagging and her petty issues for her sake. But what's going to happen when he gets tired of her, when he gets bored of being her weapon? Will he still stick by her side? She couldn't imagine her life without him. For the longest time he's been her best friend, the person she would turn to when things looked dark.

If she left this life of soul slaying, he would just up and follow her?

"Why?" She timed it perfectly so her foot tapped the tiles so he might not have heard it, she wanted it that way. She wanted him to be confused.

Their arms extended while she twirled on her tip of her toes.

"Hm?" And he was. "Why what?" Or so she thought. But why what? Did he really not know! Why was this suddenly becoming so difficult? Did she have to spell it out for him?

"Why would stay with me?"

Soul took a moment to admire the young girl bunched up in his arms. This is the only girl he could imagine doing this with. He shared an apartment with this person. He shared his life with this girl. And although she could be bratty and abusive, she was still the person he called his Best Friend.

"Cause cool guys don't ditch the people they care about, Maka." There, he said it. He hoped she caught the real meaning behind it so he wouldn't look like an idiot. Then again, this was the bookworm who carried around books for fun. He found the answer he was looking for when he caught that red tint flush over her cheeks again.

"Is that the only reason why?" Persistent and annoying as usual. This game of hers was becoming a real pain in the ass. He's been waiting long enough and those legs of hers were just continuing to rub up against him, tempting him. This was just too much. She had to know what she was doing.

Soul inhaled and exhaled quick breathes while trying to keep a clear head. She needed comfort, he wasn't allowed to be selfish.

"No Maka. But that doesn't matter right now. if you're serious about this, tell me now. This isn't something to joke about." Maka looked down at his arms wrapped protectively around her and smiled to herself, then up at him.

"Y-yeah. I think so." He wonders to himself for a minute, how has he ever resisted that adorable smile for so long? This time he's the one looking elsewhere out of embarrassment.

So to pass by that most uncool moment he did the most sensible thing he could think of and handed Maka the bottle of wine he was for some reason still in the possession of.

"Wh-what's this for?"  
"To drink, dummy."  
"Yeah I got that part. But why now?"

He sighed. It's not like he expected her to understand the thoughts of a man, but he could dream that one day she might.

"If you're really set on this, then make a toast with me right here, right now. From tomorrow on, there's no looking back, and no caring about the rest of the world. Just you and I against the world and whatever gets in our way. You up to that, Maka?"

She stared at the bottle and let her mind process what exactly she was planning on doing. Quitting the only thing she knew she was good at, move away from the only place she's ever called home and leave behind all the people she's ever cared about. And while when she put it like that it seemed like a horrible plan. But when push came to shove she knew that Soul would be there with her, and that didn't seem so bad at all. She couldn't just lie to herself and say she's never never imagined it being this way, but she didn't think it would be happening so soon in her life.

This whole thing might just be on a whim, but that didn't even register in her mind while she lifted the bottle above her head.

"Here's to...us! And...uh...yeah." She took big gulp of the aged liquid and almost immediately spat whatever stayed in her mouth, out. "Blech! So bitter. Why do people drink this stuff?" She whined. Soul let out a low chuckle and pat the idiot on her head.

"Haha. You'll always be my Super Stupid, but Super Cool Meister." The girl in the black veil dress smiled up at him with a giggle of her own as he took the damn bottle from her hands.

He may have been just about to throw away the only thing he's ever been good at, but at the end of the day he knew he'd have her by his side, and that was alright for him. Soul raised the bottle above his head much like Maka did moments before, but never took his eyes off of hers while doing so.

"Fuck the rest of the world. Here's to us."

With that sip their pact was set. And from the taste of her lips, she didn't seem to care in the least bit that he basically just cursed out everyone they cared about.

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this bit of SoMa :D I had this idea and I had to get it down. Hope some of you have at least heard the song it's based off. It's a good one by an underrated band.

Anyways...hope you enjoyed it and hopefully I can update Keys Of Insanity soon. Time to write has really been low lately what with school and work and all the crap in between. Whatever, that's life for ya.

_This is a re-upload due to FF wrongfully taking it down the first time.  
_


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